Castles Made of Sand

Twin Towers, originally uploaded by grynstar.

There are the most awesome landscapes on the way to Cuba, NM and everytime I drive by I think of stopping and taking some photos. I never do. Always on my way into the mountains or trying to get home.

Yesterday, with new camera in hand (thanks s&b!), I pulled of the highway and went for a short walkabout.

Twisted Juniper Butte

Twisted Juniper Butte, originally uploaded by grynstar.

Washout Road

Washout Road, originally uploaded by grynstar.

Sandia Walkabout

Walkabout, originally uploaded by grynstar.

Yesterday, Sara and I joined a few of her bright-eyed, camelpack sipping, gortex worshipping coworkers and walked across Sandia Mountain. Today, I'm walking very slow and maybe a bit funny.

Sandia rises about a mile above Albuquerque and stretches from the old Hwy 66 town of Tijeras north to the foothill rancheros of Placitas. We had read that one of the local environmental groups planned to hike the 26-mile span next week. It sounded interesting if not stupid, but we couldn't make the date. So, Sara's officemates decided to organize their own death march / nature walk across the Sandias for this weekend.

Despite my comments it was good times. The whole day kept the mountain shrouded in light, cool clouds. We stayed lucky until about 5pm when a dark menacing cloud that was hanging around started thundering and then pouring (see my photo interpretation of that above). At that point we were pretty damn sick of walking anyway, so it may have well been raining.

After the longest damn mile of the whole trip we finally made it back to the car and headed back to town for food and beer.

Half Dead

Half Dead, originally uploaded by grynstar.

This walkabout was very, very long. Not recommended for anyone with a life or those who like their legs functioning.

Shrooms

Shingle roof mushroom.jpg, originally uploaded by craptastica.

The tremendous monsoon season here has brought us lots of mushrooms. Here's one I found in Cuba, NM.

In a perfect world

Two fly agaric.jpg, originally uploaded by craptastica.

these would be edible.

Meadow at dusk

dusk meadow.jpg, originally uploaded by craptastica.

The view from camp at dusk.

Trail work

crosscut.jpg, originally uploaded by craptastica.

Here's trail work in action. I'm dragging a crosscut saw across a big wet log. Jerry is pounding wedges in the tree to help with the cut.

Bandelier

Lower Capulin Canyon.jpg, originally uploaded by craptastica.

Sara and I recently returned from a backpacking trip to Bandelier National Monument. It was beautiful and harsh, and made for a wonderful way to enter my 28th year of life.

Bandelier may have one of the highest concentrations of archeological elements anywhere in the United States. For hundreds of years this area was home to the ancestral pueblo indians of the modern day San Ildefonso and Cochiti Pueblos. They lived in the mesas and canyons of this area. There still exist the remnants of pueblos that were made up of thousands of rooms with ceremonial kivas, courtyards, and agricultural fields.

Though the most of the pueblos aren't much recognizable anymore, the area and its scenery are fantastic. We dragged our packed up flat-topped mesas that seemed to go on forever and rocky canyons that seemed impossibly deep. Vegetation changes between these topographic dichotomies were drastic.

We were also in the heart of monsoon season. As we hiked giant blue-white thunderstorms built up to heights of up to 5-miles high on the horizon above us. We watched the fomation of these cumulo-nimbulus monsters with amazement and apprehension. Is it going to rain on us? Will there be lightening?

Though it did pour on us for two of the three nights we were there, we stayed dry. Our bigger problem was that we actually almost ran out of water on our last day. Though it stormed and poured in the alpine country, by the time we had hiked to the high desert all the streams had gone underground and there was no water to be found.

Overall we had a blast. We ate like gourmets, gazed upon unspeakably beautiful landscapes, and joked and joshed our way through all the backcountry hardships. I know what I'll be doing next year for my birthday.

Painted Cave

Painted Cave.jpg, originally uploaded by craptastica.

Painted cave was my favorite part of the trip. The pictographs were like no other I've seen in the Jemez. On the left, you can see drawings of a church and then in other parts you can see a ceremonial dancer and a Star of David. If anything, these photos tell of the sudden cultural changes being felt by the pueblo indians in the early 1600s after the Spanish had arrived.

Mike at Yapashi

Mike at Yapashi.jpg, originally uploaded by craptastica.

We took a side hike to check out the unexcavated Yapashi Ruins. About 500 years ago this was a major pueblo in the area. Today all that's left is some standing walls, foundations, and thousands of pottery shards.

Tuff Erosion Sky.jpg

Tuff Erosion Sky.jpg, originally uploaded by craptastica.

A pock-marked cliff face caused by the steady erosion of volcanic tuff rock. This curiously odd erosion pattern seems to occur all over the Jemez Mountains.